On March 31, in Japan, an important UN report on climate change will be launched. It is expected that this document will state that climate change is causing more extreme weather and that it will cause significant damage in both rich and poor countries.

The report was written by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a UN body in charge of writing five annual reports about knowledge related to the scientific, technical and socio-economic aspects of the climate crisis.

The latest report clearly stated that climate change caused by humans is already affecting ecosystems and food production, and that the effects on human health are increasingly apparent. It also established that “ even the most stringent mitigation efforts cannot avoid further impacts of climate change in the next few decades” but without these “climate change would, in the long term, be likely to exceed the capacity of natural, managed and human systems to adapt”, according to a press release issued on Thursday by Friends of the Earth International (FoEI).

The environmental federation warns that the next report is likely to state that even with climate change adaptation measures, global agricultural productivity could decline in all regions, although developing country regions are likely to be hit the hardest.

“Scientists are warning us that extreme weather is taking a huge toll in lives and livelihoods worldwide and this will only worsen. The poorest and most marginalized people will be unable to adapt to this reality. This report underscores the need for urgent action from world leaders to reduce carbon emissions,” said Dipti Bhatnagar, Friends of the Earth International Climate Justice and Energy coordinator.

An increase in the number of climate refugees is also expected. Activist Yuri Onodera, of Friends of the Earth Japan, said: “Developing countries will have to bear the brunt of the further impacts of climate change, although they have historically contributed the least to the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere today”.